Koreans
The 'Koreans '(Korean: 한국인) are an ethnic group from the Korean Peninsula (South Korea and North Korea) and have origins from Manchuria in China. Koreans have had many interactions with their surrounding races like the Chinese and Japanese due to wars and conquest. Origins Korean people have mixed origins from several places. Manchuria in China, Japan and Mongolia. Many Korean people are a mix of Chinese, Mongol and Japanese ancestry. Much of Korean culture is highly influenced by Chinese culture. The Korean language and naming system is influenced by the Chinese linguistic system. The historical legends of Koreans is also borrowed from Chinese legends which often causes enmity between Chinese and Korean people. The Koreans also found themselves invaded by Mongol forces in the 1200s. Then in the 1500s, the Korea invaded by the Japanese. In the 20th century, Korean was fought over again. Russia, Japan and China foughto over Manchuria and the Korean Peninsula. Japan defeated Russia, thus the Korean people found themselves under Japanese rule. During the Cold War, the Korean people were divided due to the political war between the United States and the Soviet Union. South Korean became under NATO and U.S control and North Korea under Soviet support. In 1950, the North Koreans invaded South Korea which became the Korean War. As of now, the president of North Korea and South Korea are trying to work out agreements to become one, once more. By Country Koreans make up the majority populations of North Korea and South Korea. As of a 2009 estimate, there are 50,062,000 Koreans living in South Korea and 24,051,218 in North Korea. Due to historical interactions, there is also a significant Korean minority living in China. In China, there are 2,336,771 ethnic Koreans living in the country. Most of the Koreans in China live in the northeastern regions. These include Chinese people who are of mixed or pure Korean descent. Chinese-Koreans speak Korean as a mother language and Mandarin as a second language. Koreans make up one of China's 56 offically recognized ethnic minorities. Koreans make up one of the largest Asian and Asian-American populations in the United States. In the United States, there are 2,102,283 ethnic Koreans living in the country and 1,706,822 direct descendants of Korean immigrants. Koreans also make up significant minority populations in Russia, Canada, Philippines, Japan and Kazakhstan. Language Korean people speak their own language, simply called the Korean language. Korean is a world major language containing about 78,000,000 speakers. The language is written in the Hangul script. Although the old traditional Chinese script is still intact today, but barely used. The language family that Korean belongs to is in a topic of research and dispute. Some linguists suggest that Korean belongs to the Japonic family, the language family that Japanese belongs to. Other linguists suggest that Korean belongs to the Altaic family. Religion and Architecture For the most part, Koreans are rather irreligious people. South Korea and North Korea's populations are by the majority, irreligious. North Korean people focus their faiths and attention to political figures. About 50% of people in South Korea are irreligious. But religions do exist in South Korea. Buddhism, Confucism and Roman Catholicism are the religions practiced in South Korea. Most Korean immigrants to the United States and their descendants are Roman Catholics, most being immigrants from South Korea. A lot of churches in the United States are conducted in Korean since they are for Korean-speaking communities in the United States. Most of Korean architecture reflects its history with China and Japan. Buddhist temples and pagodas are as common in South Korea as they are in China or Japan. In North Korea, the architecture is rather of socialist and communist influence. However the architecture in North Korea is not dull or "boring". Architecture in North Korea is very advanced and sometimes even elaborate. Murals and artwork is common in North Korea. Cuisine Korean cuisine is known to include lots of spices. Korean food is world famous cuisine that has gained a lot of attraction and attention to western countries. Koreans use a lot of fermented ingredients in their cuisine. One of the most common pastes included with every Korean meal is a fermented bean paste known as doenjang.. The paste is kept rotting in barrels in big farms in South Korea. Koreans also use fermented red chili paste known as ''gochujang. ''Rice is part of Korean cuisine to a lesser extent than in China or Japan. ''Dolsotbap ''is rice cooked in a stone pot. Beef, chicken and pork are the three most priced meats in Korean cuisine. Fish and seafoods are also important parts of Korean cuisine. It can be boiled, grilled, fried or eaten raw. Korean people eat a type of octopus soup, where the tentacles are so fresh that they still move in the soup! Eating fish and seafoods raw is popular in both Korea and Japan. Due to lots of historical interactions with the Japanese, ''sushi ''and ''sashimi ''are as popular in Korea as they are in Japan. In Korea it is called ''gimbap. ''Noodles were not common in Korean cuisine until 1945. Tea is a popular beverage in Korea. ''Makgeolli ''is an alcoholic beverage in Korea, made with rice wine.